Police and NSS Detain Arsen, the 'Kimzavod Karateka' in Vanadzor with Firearm

On July 19, officers from the Lori regional division of the Armenian Police, led by Chief Arthur Zakaryan and Deputy Chief Davtyan, along with officers from the criminal investigation and community policing departments of the Taroni division under the temporary command of Z. Navasardyan, conducted a special operation in Vanadzor in collaboration with their colleagues from the National Security Service (NSS) of Armenia.

According to photojournalist Gagik Shamshyan, information was received at the Lori regional division of the NSS that a well-known individual, Arsen, referred to as the 'Kimzavod Karateka,' was located near a karate training facility in the 'Kimzavod' neighborhood and was armed.

Police forces moved to the sports facility on Vardanants Street 12/14, where they spotted him. Upon seeing the police, he attempted to flee, but the police successfully apprehended him. At that moment, he started to resist the officers' legal orders and threw an object resembling a firearm to the ground from his waist.

Noticing that he continued to disobey their lawful demands, the police applied physical force and specific techniques to subdue him. He was then arrested under reasonable suspicion of committing a crime under Article 335 of the Criminal Code and taken to the Taroni police division.

According to reports, the detained individual is 40-year-old Arsen Perikhanyan, a resident of the Lori region. Notably, his brother was shot and killed with an automatic weapon near 1 Tigranyan Street in Vanadzor on November 28, 2023. The vehicle and his brother's body showed multiple bullet impacts.

It was revealed that the magazine of the mentioned pistol contained six 7.65 mm caliber cartridges, and the firearm had an inscription on it. Documentation regarding the incident has been prepared at the Taroni police division and forwarded to the Lori regional investigative division of the Investigative Committee of Armenia.

As previously reported by SHAMSHYAN.com, on November 30, an investigative team formed under the direction of the head of the Lori regional investigative division of the Investigative Committee, Sahak Mkrtchyan, included senior investigators Armen Gevorgyan, Tigran Tadevosyan, and Hayarpi Sahakyan, who submitted requests to the Lori regional court for a two-month detention of 28-year-old Karen Piloyan, a resident of the Lori region. Judge Taron Tadevosyan conducted a closed session and, upon returning from deliberative meetings, granted the request, resulting in Piloyan being transferred to the 'Vanadzor' prison of the Ministry of Justice of Armenia.

Piloyan is suspected of killing 39-year-old Arman Perikhanyan in Vanadzor using a firearm on November 28, and investigators from the Taroni police division and the patrol service of the Lori regional police discovered him and the crime weapon shortly thereafter.